1. Home
  2. English
  3. Business
  4. “Not the Era of War”: PM Modi’s advice for Putin echoes in G20’s Bali Declaration
“Not the Era of War”: PM Modi’s advice for Putin echoes in G20’s Bali Declaration

“Not the Era of War”: PM Modi’s advice for Putin echoes in G20’s Bali Declaration

0

Virendra Pandit 

 

New Delhi: The just-concluded Summit of the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) biggest world economies in Bali, Indonesia, echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sagacious advice to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this is “not the era of war.”

His assertion that this is “not an era of war” found an echo in the joint communique issued at the conclusion of the two-day G20 Summit, with world leaders calling for upholding international law in the Ukraine war and rejecting the threat of the use of nuclear weapons.

They deplored Russia’s February 24 aggression in Ukraine “in the strongest terms” on Wednesday, adopting in their declaration words PM Modi had used in a September meeting with the Russian President.

The Bali Declaration settled for a majority position and not a unanimous voice on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that “most members” condemned the war, which was the geopolitical focus of discussion among the G20 leaders.

“The peaceful resolution of conflict efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war,” said the Declaration.

At a bilateral meeting with President Putin in September at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Uzbekistan, PM Modi famously told the Russian leader the “era of war” is over. The statement was well received in Europe, which regards India as a close strategic partner of Russia.

Separately, some non-Western nations, including Saudi Arabia and South Africa, which are also close to Russia, seized another comment Modi made at the SCO event, wherein he said the world was grappling with food and energy crises that badly hurt developing countries.

The Bali Declaration said the threat of nuclear war is inadmissible, rebuking Moscow and possibly hinting at US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s agreement on the issue.

While most of the G20 nations called for peace and diplomacy, differences in national positions remained and showed in the Declaration’s text:

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy—constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks.”

Reports said a call to outrightly condemn Russia initially faced opposition from some nations. But the alarming incident of suspected Russian missiles hitting a farm in Poland and killing two people changed the tone of the discussions.

US President Biden called an emergency meeting of G7 nations on the G20 Summit’s sidelines immediately afterward. It was later reported that the missiles may not have been from Russia and were instead shot by Ukraine to intercept Russian attacks, which Kyiv denied later.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s sudden exit from the G20 Summit on Tuesday evening may have also influenced the strong wording of the final document.

At the end of the Summit, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo handed over the G20 gavel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With this, India formally took over the Annual Presidency of the G20 for 2023, said the Ministry of External Affairs.

PM Modi said India’s presidency will focus on the needs of developing nations and it will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.

 

LEAVE YOUR COMMENT

Your email address will not be published.

Join our WhatsApp Channel

And stay informed with the latest news and updates.

Join Now
revoi whats app qr code